Page 4 - Online Notes 2017 Flipbook_Neat

The Village

Little Chadwick is situated some thirty miles outside a major city and is home
to about 4,000 people. The electrification of the railway in the 1970s has
dragged the village into the commuter belt and many of the residents travel to
the city to work. Indeed, Little Chadwick’s station, opened in 1926, now serves
about 180,000 passengers every year.

The village is no rural backwater; there is a considerable amount of light industry on the
Handside Business Park (still known to older residents as the ‘Little Chadwick Industrial
Estate’), notably at the headquarters of Fairman UK, which has been making abrasives at this
site since 1962 and now employs about 150 people.

Though it traces its history to Roman times, Little Chadwick saw its most significant expansion
in the 1950s with the completion of the Pennetts housing estate to the north. This area provides
the most affordable housing and is popular with younger families and students.

Indeed, the presence of the Van Guessens Agricultural College brings a sizeable student
population to the village, though this obviously declines in the summer months. Opened in
1938, it has around 500 full-time and 500 part-time students, many of whom live in the village.
The college is based in the south east, where the campus boasts a bar, gymnasium and 60-
room accommodation block.

Tourism is a significant part of the village economy, with Bluecoat Hall attracting many visitors
throughout the year, especially during the summer. This stately home with its elegant,
manicured grounds was completed in 1664 and has been open to the public since the 1970s.

The Little Chadwick Museum and the water mill are also popular with visitors. The museum
houses an interesting collection of artefacts and documents, telling the village story from its
Roman origins via the Domesday Book, the building of Bluecoat Hall and the coming of the
railway. Next door is a fully restored water mill which dates from the 1680s. There is also a
small art gallery and a tea room.

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Towards the south of the village, the parish church of St Mark dates from the 12 century,
though was extensively built in the 1460s. Next door to the church is the village hall, providing a
focal point for many of the community’s activities. The Little Chadwick Players have performed
at the hall regularly since their inception in 1925.

Over the road from the church, Little Chadwick’s village green has long served as the sports
field for St Mark’s JMI School. It is also the home to the village’s cricket club in the summer and
is well-used by sporty students and locals on an ad-hoc basis. The summer carnival and funfair
takes place here every July.

The other notable feature of Little Chadwick is its public houses. The Black Horse has been
serving customers since the 1350s; the Golden Eagle since the 1950s. In the intervening 600
years a further six pubs have opened their doors. But as people’s leisure choices multiply, it is
difficult to see a bright future for all eight of these pubs in what is a very crowded market.

In fact, the village’s pubs have compounded their difficulties through neglect and poor
management. All eight of the pubs are rather dull, dog-eared and dismal. None has a
serviceable car park or a usable garden. The food is unremarkable, the range of drinks quite
limited. There are no pool tables or big screen TVs, in fact none of the pubs are offering any
entertainment at all. No one is advertising; there are no price promotions. But not everything is
bleak - there are all kinds of ways in which these pubs can carve out a distinct identity and build
a profitable future. Fortunately, the pubs are under new management...

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